Issa Calls for Dismissals at SEC

By

Jessica Holzer

Jan 21, 2011 4:55 pm ET

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa wants the Securities and Exchange Commission to terminate problem employees, particularly the ones singled out last year for viewing pornography on the job.

In a letter to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro earlier this month, Mr. Issa, a California Republican, was blunt: “The agency must terminate employees who perform poorly or violate policies,” he wrote. He asked specifically about the employees the SEC’s inspector general found to be watching pornography.

As of mid-December, none of them had been fired, though several had resigned or been temporarily suspended without pay, according to the letter, which cites a summary the SEC provided to Mr. Issa’s staff.

An SEC spokesman declined to comment because the agency hasn’t responded to the congressman yet.

Mr. Issa asked whether any laws or policies are impeding her from removing them and to report back to him by the end of the month.

The letter was first reported on a blog run by the nonprofit Project On Government Oversight.

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